Surfing vs. Rain

While I am usually excited for a couple stormy days here in LA, I can’t help but to think of what this would mean being back on the East Coast. Especially with the waves that had shown up back home recently, I can’t help to think of the times I had been out in some weird weather. I have this belief that whenever its stormy or rainy, the waves get surprisingly good. Like how my friend Mark still refers to the hail day so clearly.

Whenever I tell someone this phenomenon, especially non-surfers, the response I mostly here is, ‘you shouldn’t surf in the rain isn’t the water gross’. While they are right and you can easily look at water bacteria levels to steer you away from the water for a couple days, I find this to be my superpower. Growing up next to lake with a sewage pipe that connected to the ocean, i would find myself surfing through the sewage especially after the rain. Talk about water color. It offered wedgy quick rights and long softer lefts as the sand would build up off the end of it. This would be where I would learn to surf, spending many days staring at this object. Sometimes as the tide pulled low enough, you could see in it… spooky. I took my chances time and time again often times not feeling the greatest the next day, but better than if I chose to not go out and the waves were good.

As I thought about these times it had dawned on me why enjoyed surfing in the rain. I grabbed my wetsuit still wet from the day before and headed down to the beach, the rain had kept the wind off and crowd away. I suit up, already embracing the fact of being wet i quickly got out of my freshly wet clothes and into my soon to be wet suit. Some people sat in their cars shocked another person would be going in the water as the smell from the rain and LA sewage filled the air. I got about 40 minutes before dark, run into the water(first mistake, water splashes into my mouth. No going back. I get a couple, never satisfied coming out already critiquing what I did wrong. Still though I’m happy I got in and like all my sessions in the rain as I shower off I get to ask myself, wonder if I’ll get sick this time. Until Next Time - cheers

http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/phcommon/public/eh/water_quality/beach_grades.cfm/

• If you are looking to see the quality here ya go